You don’t go to the DMV to transfer a car title in Texas. The Texas Department of Motor Vehicles sets the rules, but the paperwork is filed at your County Tax Assessor-Collector’s office, and the buyer has 30 days from the date of sale to get it done. You can handle it in person or by mail.
Where the Transfer Actually Happens
Texas has 254 County Tax Assessor-Collector offices, and those are the counters that process title transfers, registration, and plate changes.1Texas Department of Motor Vehicles. County Tax Offices TxDMV itself does not take individual title applications at a state office. Find your county’s location on the TxDMV site, and check whether it offers appointments; some do, and it saves a long wait.
What to Bring for a Private-Party Transfer
Show up (or mail in) with all of the following:
- The signed original Texas Certificate of Title. The seller fills in the sale date, sales price, odometer reading, and their signature on the back. No cross-outs. A marked-up title will not be accepted.2Texas Department of Motor Vehicles. Buying or Selling a Vehicle
- A completed Form 130-U, the Application for Texas Title and/or Registration. Download it from the TxDMV site or pick one up at the county office.3Texas Department of Motor Vehicles. Application for Texas Title and/or Registration (Form 130-U)
- Proof of Texas liability insurance in the buyer’s name. Without it, you can still apply for “title only” and skip registration for now.4Travis County Tax Office. Vehicle Title Transfer, Buying a Vehicle
- A valid photo ID. Since March 5, 2026, Texas requires a REAL ID-compliant license or state ID, a non-REAL-ID license from a state that verifies legal presence (Texas does), a U.S. passport, a Texas License to Carry, or a foreign passport paired with an I-94, permanent resident card, or unexpired immigrant visa.5Texas Department of Motor Vehicles. Identification Requirements for Vehicle Registration Transactions
- A lien release from the previous lender if the vehicle carried a loan. The title cannot transfer without it.6Legal Information Institute. 43 Texas Administrative Code 217.106 – Discharge of Lien
Odometer disclosure on the title is required for vehicles under 20 model years old. A missing or wrong odometer entry stops the transfer.
One inspection note: safety inspections for passenger cars were eliminated on January 1, 2025.7Texas Department of Public Safety. Vehicle Safety Inspection Changes Take Effect January 2025 Emissions testing still applies in 17 counties (Brazoria, Collin, Dallas, Denton, El Paso, Ellis, Fort Bend, Galveston, Harris, Johnson, Kaufman, Montgomery, Parker, Rockwall, Tarrant, Travis, and Williamson), with Bexar joining on November 1, 2026. If you’re registering in one of those counties and the state database doesn’t already show a passing test, you’ll need a Vehicle Inspection Report at the counter.8Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. Vehicle Emissions Inspections in Texas
The 30-Day Deadline and What Late Costs
The buyer has 30 calendar days from the date the seller signs the title over to file the application.2Texas Department of Motor Vehicles. Buying or Selling a Vehicle Active-duty military members, including National Guard and reserves, get 60 days.9Comptroller of Public Accounts. Motor Vehicle Tax Guide – Military Personnel
File on day 31 and it costs an extra $25. After 60 days, another $25 stacks on for every 30 days (or partial 30 days) the application is still unfiled, capped at $250.10State of Texas. Texas Transportation Code 501.146 County offices cannot waive these penalties; they’re set by statute.11Travis County Tax Office. Vehicle Title Transfer Fees and Penalties
Fees and How Sales Tax Is Calculated
You’ll pay several things at the counter:
- Title application fee: $28 in most counties, $33 in counties that require emissions testing.3Texas Department of Motor Vehicles. Application for Texas Title and/or Registration (Form 130-U)
- Registration: $2.50 to transfer the existing registration if it’s still current, otherwise the full annual fee, which for a standard passenger vehicle or light truck in 2026 is $50.75 plus local county fees.12Texas Department of Motor Vehicles. Schedule of Texas Registration Fees
- Motor vehicle sales tax at 6.25 percent.
The sales tax math is where private buyers get caught. The county compares your actual purchase price to 80 percent of the vehicle’s Standard Presumptive Value, a figure TxDMV publishes from used-car market data, and charges 6.25 percent on whichever is higher.13Legal Information Institute. 34 Texas Administrative Code 3.79 – Standard Presumptive Value Buy a truck for $10,000 when 80 percent of SPV is $14,000, and you owe tax on $14,000. If you think the SPV overstates what the vehicle is really worth, you can get a certified appraisal on Form 14-128 within 30 days of purchase and use that instead, as long as the appraisal isn’t below the price you paid.14Comptroller of Public Accounts. Private-Party Purchases and Standard Presumptive Values
Dealership purchases work differently: the dealer handles the paperwork and collects tax on the sale price minus any trade-in, with no SPV comparison.15Comptroller of Public Accounts. Motor Vehicle Tax Guide – Motor Vehicle Sales Tax You generally don’t visit the county tax office at all.
Doing It In Person
Bring everything to the county tax office. The buyer (or someone acting under a power of attorney) presents the signed title, Form 130-U, insurance, and ID, then pays the fees and sales tax. It helps to have the seller come along in case a question surfaces about the title signature or sale details. The counter issues temporary registration on the spot and new plates if needed. Your permanent title comes by mail within a few weeks. Keep copies of everything you handed over and every receipt.
Doing It by Mail
Most county tax offices accept transfer packets by mail. Send the signed original title, completed Form 130-U, proof of insurance, and a check or money order for the fees to your County Tax Assessor-Collector. Use a trackable service, because you’re mailing an original title. Check every field before you seal the envelope; one blank box gets the whole packet returned while your 30-day clock keeps running.
Gifting a Vehicle to Family
A qualifying family transfer pays a flat $10 gift tax instead of the 6.25 percent sales tax.16Comptroller of Public Accounts. Motor Vehicle Tax Guide – Gift Tax On a $20,000 vehicle, that’s the difference between $10 and $1,250. Qualifying relationships include spouses, parents and stepparents, children and stepchildren, siblings, grandparents and great-grandparents, in-laws at those tiers, legal guardians, and 501(c)(3) nonprofits. Both parties fill out Form 14-317, the Affidavit of Motor Vehicle Gift Transfer, and file it with the usual title transfer documents.17Texas Department of Motor Vehicles. Affidavit of Motor Vehicle Gift Transfer (Form 14-317) As of September 1, 2025, vehicles passing to an heir from a decedent’s estate (by will, intestate succession, or rights of survivorship) are exempt from the gift tax entirely.
Transferring From a Deceased Owner
When probate isn’t needed, heirs can use Form VTR-262, the Affidavit of Heirship for a Motor Vehicle.18Texas Department of Motor Vehicles. Affidavit of Heirship for a Motor Vehicle (Form VTR-262) Each heir signs before a notary. If there is a surviving spouse, only the spouse signs, unless the decedent had children from another relationship, in which case those children sign too. Without a surviving spouse, all of the decedent’s children sign. Bring the notarized VTR-262 to the county tax office along with Form 130-U, the original title if you have it, proof of insurance, and any lien release. If a court ruled that estate administration wasn’t necessary, attach that order and the relevant portions of the will.
When You Don’t Have the Title
If the seller can’t produce a title and you can’t reach them, Texas has a bonded title process.19Texas Department of Motor Vehicles. Bought a Vehicle Without a Title? It takes longer and costs more than a normal transfer, but it produces a legal title.
- Apply at a TxDMV Regional Service Center using Form VTR-130-SOF, with whatever proof of ownership you have (bill of sale, invoice, cancelled check), a photo ID, and a $15 fee. Vehicles never titled in Texas also need a VIN inspection by a law enforcement auto theft investigator.
- If approved, TxDMV issues a Notice of Determination stating a required surety bond amount equal to one and a half times the vehicle’s value.
- Buy the surety bond from any Texas-licensed agency within one year of the notice. Your out-of-pocket cost is usually a small percentage of the bond amount.
- Within 30 days of buying the bond, take the Notice of Determination, the bond, Form 130-U, and your original application documents to the county tax office.
The bonded process is closed to you if the vehicle has an active lien less than 10 years old and you can’t get a lien release, and the vehicle must be complete (frame, body, and motor) and not junked or nonrepairable.19Texas Department of Motor Vehicles. Bought a Vehicle Without a Title?
Sending Someone Else With a Power of Attorney
If you can’t make it to the county office, Form VTR-271, the Limited Power of Attorney, lets another person sign title documents and file the application for you.20Texas Department of Motor Vehicles. Limited Power of Attorney for Eligible Motor Vehicle Transactions (Form VTR-271) Both people submit a photocopy of their photo ID. VTR-271 cannot be used in a dealer transaction involving federal odometer disclosure; that scenario needs the secure Form VTR-271-A.
If You’re the Seller, File a Vehicle Transfer Notification
Selling a car in Texas doesn’t end when the buyer drives off. Until the buyer titles the vehicle in their own name, parking tickets, toll charges, and other liability can still track back to you as the registered owner. Filing a Vehicle Transfer Notification within 30 days of the sale cuts off that exposure.2Texas Department of Motor Vehicles. Buying or Selling a Vehicle Submit it online at TxDMV.gov/VTN, which is fastest, or mail Form VTR-346.21Texas Department of Motor Vehicles. Texas Motor Vehicle Transfer Notification (Form VTR-346) Do it even if the buyer swears they’re heading straight to the county office. People delay, and a toll bill six months later is a bad way to learn they did.